Arkonas's life
The following biography is compiled from eyewitness accounts, official documentation and interviews with Arkonas himself. Arkonas is only one of perhaps hundreds of thousands of cases withing the Blood Elven population. Rewind the clock approximately 17 years and you would not be able to tell the difference between Arkonas and a regular street urchin. He would have undoubtably continued down such a trecharous and tragic path, eventually descending into the depths of the wretched, had not once chance occurrence changed his life forever. EmperorJarethan had taken to strolling through the city of Silvermoon during the time he was an Advisor to the triumvirate of the Magister. On one such morning, when he was making his way back to the Court of the Sun through the Murder Row, he happened across a small child wearing the tattered remains of a robe. However, something stood out. It took the young Emperor a second to work out that the child had a curious head of long, white hair. Extremely unusual in an 8-year-old. The next morning, Jarethan found himself drawn back to the Murder Row and curiously hoping he would see the child again. He did. The boy was almost in the exact same spot. He almost unconsciously threw a silver coin the child's way. Not such a momentous change in fortune, unless you consider this was perhaps the first time anybody had shown any compassion towards the young Arkonas. The child looked up, meaning to stammer a thanks, but only managed to gape at the first person to ever offer him assistance. It became almost routine, Jarethan would stroll through the Murder Row every morning and he would toss a silver coin to the young child. Perhaps two weeks after their first encounter, Jarethan tossed yet another silver coin to the small child while making his way back to the Palace when he was answered with a small, weak voice."Why?" He stopped completely, almost shocked that the child was able to talk. He turned around and found the child perhaps one metre away from him, looking up with emerald eyes. "Why do you keep giving me money? Nobody ever helps me." Jarethan did not answer the question, and still has not to this day. Instead, he kneeled down, meeting the child's eyes with his own and offered a gloved hand to the boy. "If you stay here, you will live a horrible life, one that nobody should have to live." He said, "I have a vision for an Empire, to help people like you. Will you be the first to let me help you?" The young Arkonas said nothing, just stared for a long minute. Before hesitantly taking the man's hand. "My name is Jarethan." He said. The child remained silent for a short time before mumbling his answer "Arkonas". The Emperor nodded, and together they stood up and walked out of the shadows of the Murder Row and into the Court of the Sun. By the time the child was was 17, the Emperor was beginning to worry about Arkonas. There was no question that the child was capable, he had adequately gripped the arts of the Warlock and the Mage, but depite the Emperor's efforts, the child was having trouble shaking off his old habits. Living on the streets meant that he had developed a sense of danger and mischief. Something that had earned him punishment on more than one occasion. Not knowing what else to do, the Emperor made the decision of sending Arkonas away to train with the Shattered Sun for a year. Hoping that the discipline would do him good. It was a grumpy, 17 year old Arkonas that disembarked from a ship onto the shores of Quel'Danas. Met with none other than Vindicator Marrad. After spending a day in the detention ward, for scowling at the respectable Vindicator, his training began. His days began at 6am, being woken up by the sound of a single cannon shot aimed out to sea. Breakfast was usually bread and a glass of milk, followed by a one hour run around the island. After he had showered ( only cold water ) he would be made to find the thickest tree on the island and chop firewood for his commander's fireplaces with a rusty axe. Then the day's training could begin. Six months later, the Emperor recieved a surprising letter from Arkonas, asking to remain on the island and complete a full training course. Jarethan was curious as to what changes were happening to Arkonas with his new lifestyle but decided to permit it. Arkonas completely mastered the arts of the Paladin with flying colours and was swiftly moved to battle. By the time he was Ninteen, he had risen through the ranks of the shattered sun as such that he answered only to Marrad. On his twenty-first, it was time for Arkonas to leave the Shattered Sun and return to the Emperor. Vindicator Marrad saw him off from Quel'Danas. With a final farewell present, he presented Arkonas with the Dawnblade. A sword crafted by the finest metalworkers of Azeroth. The making of which he had overseen himself. The sword was composed of the finest metals and imbued with the power of the Naaru. When the minute of departure was upon them, they shook hands, not as Delinquent and Master, as they had first met, but as equals. Arkonas then boarded the ship and set off for home. The future awaited. It was perhaps a week after Arkonas had first left Quel'Danas that a tall, tanned man arrived at Silvermoon City, with a white hooded and slightly ragged, but flowing cloak draped around him. The man's curious outfit and stance drew many glances from the guards of silvermoon. More than one of whom drew his sword, just in case this strange man decided to unleash the damage he was so obviously capable of causing. As he arrived at the Court of the Sun, and more specifically, the Palace, a single guard walked forward from the hundred or so lined along the red carpet and challenged him. "Halt", he said firmly, "What business do you have here!". The robed elf seemed slightly annoyed that he had been demanded, and not questioned. But instead of making a move he said one word: "Arkonas.". The guard was taken back by this simple answer, and began to enquire about what this cloaked man meant when he was interrupted, "Just tell those within the palace that word." and the man would say nothing more. The guard quickly sent one of his men to the task and no more than a minute later, he returned with orders to stand down. A sly smirk twitched at the lips of the cloaked elf as the defiant guard was forced to step aside, as were his men. He entered the lit interior of the palace, drawing stares from most of the people there. He ignored them all, instead, keeping his eyes fixed on the throne at the end of the hall on top of which an elf with spiked black hair and swathed in royal red robes sat. "Welcome back", said Jarethan "How was the trip?". The cloaked elf pulled back his hood, revealing two sparkling emerald eyes and a head of long, white hair. "Not bad" replied Arkonas. Far from the scrawny urchin who once caused mayhem through the entire palace, Arkonas now stood tall with a balanced stance that spoke of experience, broad shoulders, defined muscles and even a chin coated in white stubble. Jarethan took a few moments to note all the changes in Arkonas, after which he smiled. "I gather that you have been working fairly hard over the past five years, would I happen to be right?". Arkonas also took a moment to remember the numerous battles, years of training and his departure from Quel'Danas. "I guess you could say that." he replied. However the Emperor, despite the history between him and Arkonas, had always been reluctant to simply take somebody's word for granted and snapped his fingers. Three of the guards, who had been standing closest to Arkonas suddenly raced forward with swords drawn and the intent to kill. In one swift movement, he ripped the cloak from his neck, revealling a set of dull, steel armour and the Dawnblade. He didn't bother reaching for the sword. Arkonas dove under the first guard's swing and drove an elbow into the elf's solar plexus. The guard's chestplate cracked and he was sent tumbling backwards. As the second guard attempted a lunge, Arkonas side-stepped the strike and drove a flat-palmed strike into the centre of the second guard's forehead. He fell to the floor. The third guard stood almost completely rigid, keeping his blade centred at Arkonas...the tip of the blade was quivering slightly. Arkonas ran up to the elf, knocking his blade aside with a forearm and simply tripped him up. The guard could do nothing other than gape at the figure looming over him. With two guards unconscious and the third disarmed, Arkonas turned back to Jarethan. "Satisfied?" He enquired. Arkonas ordered the expedition team to line up in a horizontal, single-file line. "All right" he announced "This is basically just a diplomatic trip to Silvermoon City, our Cultural Capital, to see how they are fairing without us. I am going to be taking an escort group with me to provide a bit more of a presence for the Empire than just one Advisor. Anybody who wishes to attend with me, please raise your hand." The entire gathering, consisting of; Daena, RachaelTheAcraness, Overlord Tyrius, Zhukov, Narcolis, Kriesler, Akriloth, Adam Weishaupt, Warlord Knaralis and Sephrenia raised their hands. "Very Well" Replied Arkonas, turning his attention to Rachael "Arcaness? A portal to Silvermoon City, if you would." After a few moments of chanelling Arcane magicks, a portal was successfully established and the party stepped through ...only to find themselves somewhere in Eversong Forest. The group collectively turned to Rachael, glaring accusingly. "Whoops" She said "Must've had my mind on other things..." as she blushed, embarassed at her mistake. "No matter" Arkonas told her reasurringly "We're within walking distance of Silvermoon City, see? You were only a little bit off" Sure enough, Silvermoon City's unmistakable spirals and walls could be seen through the forst and Arkonas led the group through towards the city. It did not take the party very long to navigate through the trees and find their way into the City. From there, they strolled up the Walk of Elders, taking the most direct route to the Sunfury Spire. As they approached the Murder Row, however, Arkonas halted in his tracks. "Oh..er..The Murder Row" he stuttered "I'd forgotten that it was on the way here..." Another member of the expedition, Zhukov, turned to Arkonas "Is that a problem?" "No! Not at all! I was just...nevermind, let's go" stammered Arkonas before setting off at a brisk stroll. They passed through the Murder Row with little occurrence, the patrolling guards recognized the Empire uniforms and saluted, civilians watched them pass. Nothing out of the ordinary. As they neared the entrance to the Court of the Sun, however. Something caught Arkonas' eye and he froze. Everybody else was preoccupied with discussion one of the giant Arcane Patrollers in the Court of the Sun, so only Knaralis noticed that Arkonas had broken away from the group and was kneeling down by an old tree, which had been grown through the tiles. "What's wrong, Arkonas?" he enquired. Realising he had been spotted, Arkonas quickly grabbed something wedged between the tree and the wall next to it and slipped it into his robe. "Nothing, he replied. Just a bit of nostalgia. Come, we're late already" He set off quickly, towards the Court of the Sun, urging the rest of the group to follow him. An hour or so later, the meeting had finished, Arkonas had recieved a report from the Minister and the group headed back to the Murder Row, and into the only inn populating it. Upon their arrival, Arkonas turned to the gathered Empirians. "Thank you for attending this meeting, everybody" Arkonas announced "I know you didn't have to be here and yet you came anyway and to show my thanks, dinner is on me." The members of the party grinned at each other and entered the inn. Where, just as promised, a buffet awaited them. They promply began to eat the delicious food. Whereas Arkonas simply grabbed an apple and headed back outside, muttering something about some fresh air. Once outside, he quickly checked around him to ensure nobody was watching before reaching into his robe and pulling out the letter he had found. It appeared to be nothing special, perhaps some form of social letter, or product order. What concerned him was not the contents as much (which didn't matter anyway as the contents were completely illegible due to years of weathering) but the address printed on the back, which had somehow still survived. Showing that the letter had been adressed to the East Sanctum, located along the Dead Scar. Taking this into consideration, Arkonas headed back inside to rejoin the feast. The next morning, everybody was gathered outside the Inn and was ready to return to the Empire. Arkonas gathered them up and began to lead them through the city and towards the main gates. Halfway there, Rachael caught up with Arkonas and questioned him; "Why are we walking all the way through the city, Arkonas? Couldn't I just conjure a portal to take us directly back to the Empire?". Arkonas' replied softly, as not to alert the guards standing close "I wish to discuss something with those present here...outside the city walls where we will not be overheard. Do you understand?" Rachael was struck with the tone of his voice and the unusual seriousness of his eyes. She obligingly stood back. Once everybody had left the city behind, Arkonas gathered them within the Eversong Woods. "Listen carefully" he told them all "I have a certain personal errand I must attend to. I may require the additional strength of one or two of you. Although, be warned, this may be dangerous. Anybody who wishes to come with me, raise their hand." To Arkonas' surprise, every single person present raised their hand. "Very well," he said "Let us depart. To the Dead Scar." As Arkonas led them along the Scar the party, indeed, encountered large quantities of scourge. With the combined strength of the gathered party, they managed to fight their way through the abominations and at last, gathered outside the East Sanctum. Arkonas led the party slowly through the wrecked archways of the sanctum and into the East Sanctum itself. Long since deteriorated and useless as it was, the building's crumbling structure somehow managed to support itself, preventing the entire construct from destroying itself. Arkonas made a motion to the upstairs portion of the building and put a finger to his lips, there could still be some scourge residing within the rotting walls. Tyrius and Kriesler nodded and crept upstairs, while the rest of the group remained downstairs with Arkonas, either watching the door or exploring the ruin. "All clear" called Tyrius from above, the entire group breathed a collective sigh of relief and allowed themselves a moment of relaxation to examine the wrecked sanctum. Arkonas himself began to poke around for a bit, he strolled around the ground floor slowly picking up pieces of rubble and inspecting them. The entire group watched him, curious as to what he was looking for. Suddenly, Arkonas spotted a white glimmer among the rubble, located just beyond a particularly dense cluster of scourge bones and weapons.He placed a couple of fingertips under the large, heavy slab of concrete and lifted it free, placing it gently to the side. In the previously occupied space, was a couple of skeletons, weathered and broken by the ages but undoubtably blood-elven. "Must've been the sanctum keepers when the scourge attacked" muttered somebody behind him. Arkonas ignored the statement, kneeling before the two skeletons. One appeared to be a female, the other male. The female had what apeared to be several arrows jutting out of her chest, while the male had a shattered right kneecap and was clutching a sword in his bony hand. He took all this in for a moment, before noticing that there was something small and yellow clutched in the hand of the wounded male skeleton. He reached forward and slowly wriggled it free, mindful of the brittleness of the bones. "What is it?" Enquired somebody. "It looks like a piece of parchment" replied Arkonas "Judging from the lack of wound on the male, other than the kneecap, it's safe to say he was wounded badly and left to die. He must have used this time to write a letter to whoever finds his remains" having said this, Arkonas unfolded the letter and began to read. The group remained silent for a second while Arkonas scanned the letter briefly. As he read it, what had been his standard blank expression quickly changed into something that could have been a mixture of shock and fear. Unsettled by what he might have read, Sephrenia stepped forward to enquire what was wrong when the sound of footsteps, weapons being readied and numerous delighted howls emanated from the doorway. "SCOURGE!!" Shouted Knaralis "Defend yourselves!" screamed Sephrenia as the party readied themselves for battle. While the battle between the party and the scourge force raged, Arkonas seemed only slightly aware of what was going on. He has stopped reading the letter but his movements were slow, as if he was in shock. A scourge swordwielder lunged for him and he clumsily deflected the sword and swung his own at the monstrosity's head. Had he been in a normal mental state, he would have undoubtably noticed the scourge berserker charging behind him, the berserker swung his battleaxe at Arkonas, the bluntened metal did would be little use for cutting anything more solid than an apple, but the force behind the axe made a sickening crack as it connected with his skull. The berserker was promptly taken out by one of Rachael's spells, but nobody noticed the unconscious and bleeding Arkonas. Soon, the battle was over and the scourge were either twitching on the floor or lying perfectly still. When the battle was over, the party sheathed their weapons and let out a collective cheer. Sephrenia was the first to notice Arkonas lying on the floor. At first, she almost dismissed it as some kind of illusion but as she noticed the blood spreading the sickening truth dawned on her. "Arkonas!!" She cried rushing towards him. Within seconds, the entire group had gathered around the unconscious Vizier. Knaralis quickly took control "We need to get him back to Silvermoon City" he said "We can care for him there and find a healer" Summoning his mount, Knaralis ordered Adam to sling Arkonas' limp body over the back of his horse and secure him with a harness. With Arkonas secure, the party set off back to Silvermoon City. They comandeered an Inn back at the city, evicting all the current tenants. Arkonas was placed on a couch. Knaralis roughly bandaged Arkonas' head as several party members were ordered to leave the inn and search for a healer. After a minute of waiting, Sephrenia eventuaoly couldn't contain her impatience and elbowed her way past Knaralis, setting herself the task of attending to Arkonas' wound herself. Realising that the group had gathered in close, Knaralis ordered them to go to bed and rest. Eventually, Knaralis joined them, Knowing that there was nothing else he could do. Sephrenia, however, spent the entire night at Arkonas' side, healing him and tending to his head wound... Dawn broke and as the sun gently rose above the walls of Silvermoon City, Arkonas gently opened his eyes. He found himself looking up at an unfamiliar roof, with a chandellier dangling directly above him. Seeing him awake, a look of relief filled her face for a second and she hugged him as gently as she could. Eventually, Knaralis and the rest of the aprty awoke and came back downstairs. By this time, Arkonas had managed to sit himself up in bed and was drinking water from a gobjet snatched from the inn's bar. "I suppose I owe you all an explanation" he said gently, when the entire group had gathered. "Yes, I suppose you do" remarked Narcolis. The rest of the group glared at him but Arkonas waved away their hostility. "No, he is right. I dragged you to East Sanctum, placed you all in danger and all while keeping you in the dark. I owe you an explanation". Arkonas then proceeded to tell them the story of his childhood days, the time he spent begging in the Murder Row, of finding the letter wedged in his old Begging spot as they had passed through the Murder Row two days previous and why he had felt compelled to go to East Sanctum. "That's nice," said Tyrius "But what about the letter you found, the one that got us into this whole mess". "Oh, right. That letter" said Arkonas, reaching into his robes and pulling out the faded parchment. "As I said, this appears to be the last words of one of the Sanctum keepers" he began "It seems he had quite a bit of time on his hands. He tells of his wife, his days as a paladin in the Blood Guard and how he retired to the duties of an Sanctum Keeper in order to start a family" as he said the word 'family' Arkonas's breath caught and he took a moment before continuing. "He also asks whomever finds the letter to find his son, who was separated from them during the conflict. "That's an easy task" said Zhukov "I have contacts on the streets, we can find this son in a matter of days". Arkonas remained silent for a second before replying "There will be no need for that, Zhukov." as the group looked at him curiously, Arkonas took a breath and finished his sentence "The letter has found its' way directly into his hands". Everybody regarded him with a look of confusion. Arkonas passed the letter to Knaralis. "Read the end. It is addressed to one 'Arkonas Dawnbreaker'". Upon saying the name, he bowed his head. "I always wondered what my last name was" he muttered. Before anybody could say anything, Arkonas slowly raised himself from the couch. "If you will excuse me, I need a moment to myself" he said, stepping outside. Arkonas spent the rest of the day alone, eventually sending word to the party that they should go back to the Empire and that he would join them shortly. After spending a day on his own, Arkonas stood up and made his way out of the city, heading back to the Empire. As he passed through the gates and made his way back through Eversong Woods, the setting sun shined orange through gaps in the leaves overhead and Arkonas looked up at the sight. The view of the Light filled him with a sudden realization. His father had been a paladin, in the Blood Knights. While he, himself, had chosen the way of the Paladin of his own accord. This knowledge filled him with a small, warm, comfort, as he urged his horse on and made his way back to the Empire.